In my classroom I have folders with copies of activities and worksheets going back to my first year of teaching. Once in awhile something gets thrown out but usually I either a) am too busy to take the time to throw out unneeded papers or b) I worry that maybe I'll need that worksheet five years down the road (never mind I am no longer teaching the information that way or maybe even at all! There was the start of a purge when I moved from Maryland, but I ran out of time to pack and things got thrown in boxes to come with me.
Last year I finally started to purge some stuff including class sets of worksheets left by the previous teacher. It felt like a waste to throw away so many papers but I wasn't using them. I can always make more copies or with the fact that all my kids have laptops, I can adapt the activity into an electronic format. I didn't get through a lot but it was a start.
This last week as I have sorted my pile of master copies back into their original folders, I found myself stopping several times to page through a folder and take out what was no longer needed. Yes, that action slowed down the actual putting away of papers but it is long overdue. I think I might add a total folder review to my summer goals.
This weekend I have started my overhaul of my "manipulatives" boxes. These are the cards that we use for walkarounds, stations, card passing activities. Anything that is not a worksheet, computer activity, easy to leave in a folder. I used to need a lot of big, long flashcards to review vocabulary but between shifts in my teaching and Quizlet on the SmartBoard, those were something I knew I could toss. Realizing this and combined with the difficulty in finding the manipulatives I needed some mornings, I have set out to reorganize the boxes.
Step one: the purge of unneeded items and the sort into the four levels.
In process along with my less-than-helpful assistant
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